German chemical group BASF is planning to produce up to 70,000t of ultramid polyamide (PA) and ultradur polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) per year at its Schwarzheide site, Germany, from 2017.

The plan is a part of BASF's strategy to extend the compounding capacities for engineering plastics in the entire European region. It will also help the company meet the increasing demand for engineering plastics worldwide.

The company said that the increased capacity would create around 50 new jobs at Schwarzheide site.

BASF has already doubled the compounding capacities of PA and PBT at its Shanghai facility. It has also increased the capacities of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) plant in Shanghai.

Last month, the company started operations at an ultramid and ultradur compounding plant in Korea. Both ultramid and ultradur are used in the automotive industry, the electrical and electronics sector, as well as the construction and furniture industries.

BASF's Europe division performance materials head Melanie Maas-Brunner said: "With this expansion we strengthen our leading position in engineering plastics in Europe.

"By investing in highly efficient plants we help our customers to meet the increased demands on materials, e.g. for large-volume and globally manufactured components in the automotive industry.

"As a reliable partner we thus support the growth of our customers and help them to overcome challenges such as lightweight construction and emission reduction with innovations."

Last year, in a bid to serve the Asia Pacific region better, BASF started expanding the performance materials capacity at three of its sites located in the region.

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